My Favorite Movies

"Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles..." For me, the perfect film; a seemless blend of comedy, romanticism, and adventure. An absolute celebration of great storytelling and great moviemaking. Not to mention perhaps one of, if not THE greatest sword fight (The Cliffs of Insanity: Wesley vs. Inigo) in the history of film. A childhood favorite, and an undeniable classic. Defintitely a "stranded on a desert island" selection, and a personal treasure.

"Good Form!" A major favorite film, easily in the top three. This film, directed by the master himself Steven Spielberg, played to all of my childhood loves of swordplay, fantasy, adventure, and of course, the legend of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. I remember wanting to be Robin Williams as a child watching this film; I really thought he was flying! And of course, Dustin Hoffman is hysterical (and rather dastardly) as Captain Hook, with his tradmark overbite and distinctive guffahs. I think what has drawn me back to this film again and again, besides the fact that it just oozes awesomeness, is its entrancing aesthetic, its playfull sense of wonder, and the still-nagging inner child that feels it could actually happen...to me, there is no better example of the magic of the movies.

When I first saw this movie in 1994, I realized that I could never spend another Halloween without this film. A true visual masterpiece from the mind of one of my favorite directors, Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before..." is solid from story, to character development, to the lush dream-like score by Danny Elfman (his best work in my opinion). It's really the visual scope and style of the film that makes it what it is, which is nothing short of wonderful. My favorite animated film, period.

A total classic in every sense of the word. Still, after all these years, I find myself longing to return to Oz again and again. A masterpiece and practically a family heirloom.

I've always had luck with the third films in trilogies (i.e. Last Crusade, Jedi, etc.)...BTF III is no exception. Growing up, I loved the Old West and trains, and so I gravitated toward this film more than the previous two. Christopher Lloyd at his best as Doc! Additonally, this is easily Thomas F. Wilson's best Tannen character! "I DONE SHOT THAT HORSE!!" and "I SAID THAT'S '10", YA GUTLESS YELLA PIE-SLINGER!!" lol, classic!!! oh, and of course..."Doc! The red line's about to BLOOOOOOOW!!!" LOL

Heart warming, funny, sad at times, and always a pleasure to watch. Chock-full of childhood memories...I love Spielberg's direction of this film, keeping it very intimate and subtle. A classic!

A young boy gets to go to a secret chocolate factory. It's owned by Gene Wilder, and he's crazy. He keeps small orange people as slaves. The other guests, who are brats, are dispatched of in wonderfuly, candy-themed ways. All this, plus the film's campy but lovable aesthetic and warm heart make this a guilty, yet sugary-sweet pleasure!

Meiji-era Japan. Epic samurai battles. Ken Watanabe. Enough said.

Okay, here it is, finally...my review for Sweeney Todd. I'll make it short, because for those who know me, I could go on for days non-stop. So here are the major points: The look and style of the film was PERFECT. The nature of this show and its aesthetic were right up Burton's alley. I was happy that he decided to stay true to Sweeney as a period piece - it gave the story some real legitimacy. Contrary to what many people have said about the vocal performances, I was actually quite pleased with the singing in this film - keep in mind, this is some of the most challenging music in the American Musical songbook by one of its most challenging composers; I give a lot of credit to Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Timothy Spall, Alan Rickman, and even Sacha Baron Cohen (who was wonderfully comical and at times menacing as Adolfo Pirelli) for taking on this challenge; I was also very pleased with the Johanna and Anthony in this film, as those are not easy characters to pull off - vocally, anyway. I thought the fim ran smoothly, despite some considerable editting of original content, and the cinematography was stunning, brooding, and atmospheric. There wasn't a single actor who didn't do their role justice. Depp, although he "Brando-ed" his way through some of his lines (i.e. indeterminable mumbling...so did Carter), harnessed the misery, insanity, and viciousness of Sweeney while never compromising his humanity - no easy feat. And now, the not so inconspicuous flaw: the violence (nay, the BUTCHERY) was absolutetly insane, and almost too much, even for a Sweeney Todd film. I think Burton went a little overboard with the way he presented Sweeney's dispatchings. Also, there was a wonderful missed-opportunity to utilize the original ending from the book of the musical: Originally, Anthony and Johanna return with the poilce to discover Toby in a fit of insanity, having just killed Sweeney, and grinding at an imaginary meat grinder saying "there's work to be done". Thematically, this use of irony in framing Toby as the "real" Sweeney would have given a better stinger to the end of the film. I'm not saying Burton's unresolved fade-out is bad - far from it; it just lends a different effect to the film's resolution. Overall, an excellent film that stays with you long after you leave the blood-soaked theater.

Best Batman film ever. Heath Ledger, God rest his soul, is a genius. Go see it. Now. The End.

Christopher Reeve at his best. A childhood favorite (Superman was always, and still is, one of my top superheroes), Superman II boasts pound-for-pound the best story of all the films, no less due to the flamboyant but classic performance of Terrence Stamp, aka "General Zod". Anyone who can proudly dress up like he's going to an S&M party in the Castro and demand that you "KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!!", and completely convince you accordingly, is nothing short of classic - but then again, after seeing him in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, this was probably nothing for him. An excellent superhero film across the board that, even after 25+ years, still rivals any superhero film today!

This is easily one of my favorites out of all of the films! It was dark, intense, well-acted, well-shot, well-concieved, well-adapted...well, it was well-everything! It elicited so much catharsis from me...every bit of emotion, angst, and drama from the book was beautifully translated. A must see for any Potter fan!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull proves once again that every once in a while, you need a really great fantasy-adventure film to escape all the hyper-realism crap of today (superhero films don't count...ok well, some of them). I really enjoyed the film; all the wonderful ingredients and flavors from the last three servings were there. The story became a little irrelevant after a while, but that's ultimately not why we go to see these movies--we rejoice in familiar characters, great action and adventure, intrigue, and the the undeniable mystique that this franchise continues to evoke. And kudos to Harrison Ford for still being able to rock the fedora at his age; I am THRILLED that they portrayed him more as a grizzled veteran rather than a wizened hack ripe for use as age-joke fodder. Cate Blanchett, as much as I love her, was a little wierd in this role...it was almost like we were seeing a hybrid of Drago's wife from "Rocky IV" and Velma Kelly from "Chicago"...and she fences. So does Shia LaBeouf. Yay.

The story behind this taught drama is very well written, both articulate and intricate. It's resolve, however, is never truly satisfied. For you acting-entusiasts out there, this is an excellent source for some good character study. Both leading ladies are exquisitely intense, and have developed fully-dimensional characters that we the audience, most importantly, care about. Very much as with the character psychology in the film "Crash", you will find yourself condemning and forgiving, and re-condemning and re-forgiving these character's actions over and over again. Bill Nighy turns in a great supporting performance as well, although his character's arc is a bit more rigid than Dench and Blanchett. Definitely worth a rent, perhaps even a buy!

aka "Julie Andrews Fools the Nazis - The Musical" Seriously though, this beautiful film is as much a beloved classic now as it was in 1965. But honestly, you can't really go wrong when you have Rodgers and Hammerstein's best score (next to Carousel) and the perfect cast to perform it.

A true Disney classic, rivaled by very few.

Anyone who refuses to have any affection for this touching piece of animated wonderment is a cynic and a downer. So there. "Just keep swimming!"

Oh wow...what can I say other than this: Julie Taymore + The Beatles = sheer brilliance. This is probably my absolute favorite "art" film of all time. One of the best ensemble performances I have seen in recent memory. A MUST SEE!!!

Hey, not bad! For once, they find a CREATIVE way to exploit our constant post-9/11 fears of mass urban attack. I rented this after missing out the first time; I kept hearing "you can't watch it on a small screen, it's not the same!" Whatever, it's a movie. And quite frankly, I was really impressed by the scope of the film, regardless of my aparent lacking on inches...on my TV. Ultimately, we quickly realize that the monster in this monster movie is not, in fact, the monster; it's the gritty presentation and legitimately effective level of suspense that the film skillfully crafts out of dark shadows and massive explosions. I was intrigued by the distinction that there are two levels of hell in Matt Reeves's New York: either you go down into the subway to escape the big monster and are instead bitten by the pint-sized cousins of the insects from "Star Troopers" and ultimately (and frighteningly) implode, or go topside and get crushed and/or eaten by a mother hen that's a cross between the Rancor and Golem. An overall good monster-destroys-city film, with surprisingly good acting (although I was so happy when HUD went), and a nice touch with the hand-held POV.

One word: "HAAAAAM!!" Absolutely wonderful, adorable story with beautiful visuals, delightfully precocious performances by the two leads, and great, imaginative writing/direction by Hayao Miyazaki. Kind of goes over your head once or twice, but it really doesn't matter. A real charmer!

One of the best, most original animated movies I've seen since "Shrek". Visually stunning, highly-stylized, and solid storytelling.